Indeed I can, Mr. Speaker, and I thank my colleague for an excellent question.

I am pleased to inform the House that Canada has indeed answered the call. Our initial contribution provided urgently needed medical services, relief supplies, food, water and shelter.

Yesterday in New York, the Minister of International Cooperation announced additional funding. The new pledge will help support the Haiti action plan and provide funding towards the priorities of the Haitian government.

As well, the minister reminded Canadians that our government will match the $220 million so generously donated by all Canadians.

Mr. Speaker, from correctional officials, deans of law and police to former inmates, evidence that prison farms work is overwhelming.

Working with living things builds empathy and is restorative, and working on a farm builds work and life skills that are critical.

Yet the government is killing the program, killing it with no information, no proof it will save a cent. It insults farming, calling it a dead industry, and ignores rehabilitation and job skills used in other sectors.

Will the minister do the right thing? Will he visit the farms, look at how these farms transform these men's lives and save our prison farms?

Mr. Speaker, the critic is asking questions about the rights of prisoners to farm. Over the last five years, less than 1% of offenders released into the community found work in the agriculture sector. This just shows how out of touch the Liberal Party is with Canadian farmers.

Our goal with the prison system is, first, to protect the Canadian public, and second, to rehabilitate prisoners by providing them with marketable skills.

Mr. Speaker, the St. Lawrence action plan ended on Wednesday, leaving one of the largest rivers in America without a plan or strategic vision for sustainable development. Meanwhile, the federal government announced the temporary renewal of the Canada-Ontario agreement respecting the Great Lakes basin.

By providing funding for the Ontario section of the Great Lakes St. Lawrence system and abandoning the St. Lawrence, is the government not confirming once again that, as far as it is concerned, Quebec does not exist?

Mr. Speaker, revitalizing the St. Lawrence is a priority of our government. That is why we have invested $75 million in it over the past five years. We are proud of the results and proud of having decontaminated sector 103 of the Montreal harbour. The time has now come to set new priorities for the next five years. I hope I can count on the support of the Bloc Québécois.

Mr. Speaker, today, after the cutting of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, the government has left Canada's aboriginal peoples, residential schools survivors and their communities in the cold.

During the emergency debate on the AHF, we heard that Health Canada had some kind of plan, a plan no one has seen.

Why is the government ignoring first nations, Métis and Inuit peoples? Why is it ignoring their voices that say that the AHF works for them? Why is it letting Canada's aboriginal peoples down by refusing to save the Aboriginal Healing Foundation?

Mr. Speaker, of course, we had a very good debate on this the other night which debate went on until midnight. We heard all sides to the issue.

However, what we heard consistently is that all survivors of Indian residential schools, wherever they are in the country, whether they live on reserve, off reserve, in self-government situations or wherever they are, every single one of them qualifies for help on everything from emotional care, cultural support, professional care, paraprofessional organizations.

We want to make sure those survivors are well looked after, and we have a plan to do that.

Mr. Speaker, the unfortunate misnaming of H1N1 influenza last year had the potential to severely affect pork producers in my riding and across Canada.

The Canadian Pork Council president recently thanked the government, saying the ministers of agriculture and international trade acted quickly on behalf of the industry by effectively coordinating department actions to minimize market disruptions and quickly resolve issues that did occur.

Can the minister please tell the House how the government is continuing to work on behalf of Canadian pork producers?

Gerry RitzMinister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board

Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to thank my colleague from Portage—Lisgar for the great work she has done on this file.

Certainly it was my pleasure, on behalf of the agricultural department, this government as a whole and of course our new market access secretariat, to accept that award on their behalf for the great work that was done.

As members know, Canada's pork industry is world class and it exports to over 110 countries. That is why we have invested $17 million to help better market Canadian pork around the world and keep proving that Canadian pork is safe.

I know if the leader of the Liberals were here today, he would agree with that.

I would like to draw to the attention of hon. members the presence in the gallery of the recipients of the Governor General's Awards in Visual and Media Arts: Robert Davidson, André Forcier, Rita Letendre, Tom Sherman, Gabor Szilasi, Claude Tousignant, Terry Ryan and Ione Thorkelsson.

Mr. Speaker, with the House about to adjourn for the Easter weekend and with next week being scheduled as a constituency week for members of Parliament, I wonder if the government House leader could indicate how he intends to occupy the rest of this day and the week following the constituency week with the government's agenda.

Mr. Speaker, today we will be continuing with Bill C-9, the jobs and economic growth act.

Next week, as my hon. colleague indicated, is a constituency work week.

When the House returns the week of April 12, we will hopefully be able to conclude the debate at second reading of Bill C-9 and see the jobs and economic growth act move off to committee.

Wednesday, April 14, shall be an allotted day.

While I am on my feet, I would like to wish everyone a happy Easter. As we wind down this five-week sitting, I would like to take the opportunity to recognize and thank the opposition for its cooperation and at times patience as we worked together on the people's business over the last five weeks. With the possible exception from time to time of some partisan issues in question period, we have worked very well.

I would like to extend the same sentiments of appreciation, Mr. Speaker, through you, to the House staff, who always try to serve our needs so well.

Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, who just rose, stated his understanding of a French term I used yesterday. As I mentioned in my response to him yesterday, this term was correctly translated, in the context, as double-crosser.

However, since the French term, which I used correctly, can have another meaning and some people may not be sure of my meaning, I will retract it.